Short Summary

As the Middle East ceasefire came into effect on the Egyptian front, fighting was reported on Monday (22 October) to be dying down between Israel and Syria in the northern battle-zones.

Description

As the Middle East ceasefire came into effect on the Egyptian front, fighting was reported on Monday (22 October) to be dying down between Israel and Syria in the northern battle-zones. People living on the Lebanese side of Mount Hermon said they had heard no firing since mid-afternoon, some hours before the ceasefire deadline. But a senior Israeli staff officer, Major-General Shlomo Gazit, said the cessation of hostilities did not apply to Syria, as that country had not yet accepted the Security Council's call.

The Syrians claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on Sunday and Monday (21-22 October) and to have held on to territorial gains they made in the early days of the War. Israel maintained it had driven the Syrians from the Golan Heights and had captured some 300 square miles (480 sq. km.) of Syrian territory. For the last week of the war, the two sides were reported by outside sources to be deadlocked on the road to Damascus, near the village of Sasa.

Israeli sources said more than one thousand Syrian, Iraqi and other Arab tanks were destroyed or captured. This official Israeli film shows what is said to be a part of the devastated Arab armour on the Syrian front.

In the air, Syria is said to have lost almost two hundred of its two hundred and fifty aircraft. However, on Sunday (October 22) the Syrians claimed to have downed eleven Israeli jets. Independent sources said that on both fronts Israel had lost between three and four thousand men killed or wounded; the Arabs had lost moire than twelve thousand.

SYNOPSIS: As the Middle East ceasefire took effect on Monday evening between Israel and Egypt, fighting was reported to have died down on the Syrian battlefront, as well.

Official Israeli film shows some of the devastation they claim to have wrought in sixteen days of war on the northern front, against the combined forces of Syria, Iraq and Jordan.

The Arabs are said to have lost more than one thousand tanks, destroyed or captured, in this zone. The Israelis claimed to have taken three hundred quare miles of Syrian territory.

In the air, Israel maintained it had knocked out four-fifths of the Syrian air force. Syria said its jets were still fighting and only this Sunday claimed to have downed eleven Israeli planes.

Casualties have been high: Israel is independently estimated to have lost three to four thousand men killed and injured on both war fronts. Observers believe total Arab losses may be moire than twelve thousand.